


The Pleiades Bus

by dlmalfoys



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Dead Sirius Black, F/M, Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Remadora, Teddy Lupin - Freeform, The Knight Bus (Harry Potter), remus lupin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dlmalfoys/pseuds/dlmalfoys
Summary: How can you miss someone you've never met?
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. How can you miss someone you've never met?

How can you miss someone you've never met?  
  


Teddy Lupin had never met his parents; he'd never had the pleasure of getting to know the strong and brave characters that they were, the heroes of the war. He'd heard the stories; he'd seen the pictures, but he'd never known them - he'd never been able to hear the stories of their adventures in their accents, from their lips. He'd never been able to feel their warm, comforting grasps, hugs. He'd never felt their love. Teddy had been brought up by his grandmother, he had love in his life and his heart, yet the metamorphmagus would be lying if he said he didn't yearn for his parents. He craved their love. He wanted just a day with them, that's all he asked for. It was an impossible wish; sometimes Teddy felt like he'd wronged the world, he'd been banished to this life of loneliness, longing for what could've been. Some nights were worse than others, some nights the loneliness surrounded him a mist of pain and misery, submerged the orphaned boy, watched as he cried himself to sleep.  
  
  
Last night had been one of those nights. Teddy had fallen asleep, curled up under one of his mother's old blankets, a picture of the late couple under his pillow, tears rolling down his cheeks. His hair a shade of blue deeper than the ocean. He had never got the grasp of hiding his emotions, being a metamorphmagus, his hair cried out his emotions. He hadn't yet learned how to change the colour at free-will, he didn't have his mum there to teach him how; he was on this journey of self-discovery entirely alone. "Teddy?" A gentle voice called from the bottom of the stairs, Andromeda. Teddy was being raised by his maternal grandmother, Andromeda. With help from his godfather, Harry Potter. Ever since Teddy was a baby, he'd been spending a weekend or two a month at Harry's home - now at eleven years of life; that tradition hadn't changed. Not yet, anyway, in just a few months Teddy would be joining his Godfather in Hogwarts. Harry was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts where Teddy would soon be attending. "Teddy, c'mon, I hope you've packed! We need to be at the stop by eleven, it's quarter-to now!" Came that same, gentle but stern call.  
"Coming!" He called back, as he forcefully had to drag his own body out from under the covers, away from the soft warmth of his mother's old blanket. He was quick to shower, get ready for the day ahead, pack for the weekend - packing some of the textbooks he'd be needing for the year ahead, knowing he should probably do some prior reading. He may have forgotten half of what he needed for that weekend - including his toothbrush, but he didn't forget to slip the photo from under the pillow into his bag; he never went anywhere without his parents. Once he deemed himself suitable to brave the outside world, kit up in some blue corduroy trousers, they were slightly ripped and tacky, but Teddy loved them, they reminded him of his father; he paired it with a classic white hoodie, his blue (though nearly brown with mud) trainers - he was then on his way. He grabbed his bag, pulling it over his shoulder, before racing down the stairs to meet his grandmother.  
  


Usually, Andromeda saw Teddy to Harry's house, they took the knight bus straight to Harry's home. Teddy was eleven now though, he didn't need his grandmother riding the bus with him anymore. She did insist however she was the young, blue-haired boy to the bus stop. He had no qualms with that, it was a short journey and he was always asking Andromeda to tell him stories of his mother and father, which she always willing obliged to. Today was like no other weekend; they arrived at the bus stop and awaited the arrival of the familiar, purple, triple-decker bus. Eleven o'clock hit, though, and the bus still hadn't arrived. Teddy was starting to get fidgety, "where is it, grandma? It should be here by now..." He frowned as he tried to peer down the street, as though he'd spot it coming from the distance. It didn't though. Another bus did, however.  
  


An ocean blue bus came speeding in, stopping millimetres from the stop sign it had nearly gone crashing into - this had to be it. Both Teddy and Andromeda were looking very unsure, as the doors swung open, "they must have remodelled, it was about time mind you." Andromeda hummed as she looked at the deep sea blue triple-decker bus that had just - appeared, before their eyes. 'The Pleiades bus', it didn't sound very muggle-like...  
"Where are you both headed?!" Came a voice as a young wizard stepped to the doors of the bus, "come, come, hurry up now." Ushered the voice to the pair of them. The wizard, well, he looked different. He was young, handsome. He had long, black hair, that was held in a bun at the top of his head by only his wand, he had these grey eyes that held a thousand stories. He looked like he was from a different lifetime; he didn't belong in this era. He wore a leather jacket, and platformed boots, a cigarette packet sticking from his left pocket, and a necklace around his neck bearing a small black dog charm. He smiled a friendly smile, his skin glowing like moonlight. "Come, we need to get going." He ushered, although he was softer spoken this time, as he smiled at the pair like he was greeting old friends - as though he knew them, had been watching over them. Teddy's grandmother took this as they'd just had a complete remodel, and helped Teddy up onto the bus with his bag. "You write to me when you get there, alright? Don't cause too much havoc, mister. I love you." She sighed, her grandson was all grown up, her little boy wasn't so little anymore. The young wizard printed Teddy a ticket and handed it over to him. He took it with caution, as though it may bite him, looking back as the doors closed to see his grandmother waving him off, with tears glistening in her eyes as she watched her little boy growing up - taking his own adventures now. If only she knew...  
  


It had all happened so fast, that was exactly the reason why Teddy didn't even flinch though - it wasn't the Knight bus if everything wasn't so sudden, so quick. The world flashing by with each millisecond, as Teddy was launched onto one of the seats by a particularly harsh turning. He had a moment then once he was sat down, to take everything in. It all seemed the same, apart from the now blue interior and a younger-looking conductor. He looked kind, gentle; he caught the conducted watching him too, with these kind eyes - Teddy thought for a moment that he recognised him, from a photo, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't have the chance to either. Within minutes, or what felt like mere moments, the bus was coming to a stop outside of the familiar home he knew all too well. Harry's home. He was quick to grab his bag and clamber off the bus before it took off again - the blue-haired boy glanced back behind him as he stepped off the bus, and it was already long gone. He must remember to write to his grandma, tell her all about the new conductor and the pretty new interior of what he believed was just the regular old Knight Bus. He didn't give it more than thirty seconds thought though, pulling his bag back over his shoulder as he half skipped, half ran, up the pretty pathway to Harry's little cottage. His cottage was surrounded by meadows of the prettiest flowers; they always had picnics in the meadow during the summer - or made snow angels in during the winter. As Teddy reached the heavy wooden door at the head of the path, he grasped the brass knocker and banged it against the door a few times before stepping back, looking up with that excited grin he always had to see his Godfather. The large brown door swung open moments later. There stood the man in all the photos, including the one securely tucked away in his bag right now. A tall, scarred man, clad in a thick cardigan; he was smiling warmly down at his son,  
  
"Welcome home, Teddy."


	2. "Welcome home, Teddy."

"Welcome home, Teddy."  
  


Teddy stood there in shock, in disbelief. Astonished, as he looked up towards the man in the photo he held so dear to his heart. A smaller woman, with bright pink hair, appeared in the hallway beside the taller man; she wore a soft smile on her face, beckoning the younger boy in. It was like he was staring at the photo, directly at it, as though he'd climbed inside of the photo - he hadn't though, he knew he hadn't.  
"C'mon Teddy, what are you standing out there for? Did you have a fun weekend with your Grandma?" The woman asked with a smile - weekend? The weekend had just begun, it couldn't possibly be over already, this made no sense? If it was Monday he should be with his Grandma doing his school work. Andromeda had decided it would be best to homeschool Teddy, being a metamorphmagus was impossible to hide at the best of times. Standing there, in shock, Teddy made the split-second decision to follow his parents inside, gazing up at the man who ruffled his blue curls with a smile, his dad. It was his dad. Without warning, Teddy turned and wrapped his arms around his father, nearly knocking him down in an impactful hug; Remus laughed out as he wrapped his arms around his son, pressing a soft kiss to his head, "what's this for, Ted?" He asked with a warm smile. "I missed you, dad, so much." The blue-haired son responded quietly, not pulling away for a long while, but when he did, he had the chance to look around. It was Harry's home, everything was the same - except, it wasn't. They had family photos everywhere, on the walls, in the hallway, photo frames on cabinets - it felt like home, he felt like he belonged here. Like this was where he should've been, where he should always be.  
  
  
The pair headed through into the kitchen, where Tonks was pulling cookies from the oven, making Teddy's eyes light up in excitement.  
"How was your weekend then Teddy? Not up to too much mischief I hope, you get that from your father." Tonks teased with a grin; making Remus laugh out and immediately protest, "I think not! Your mother was a nightmare in school, nearly made Filch retire!" Remus was quick to call her out; Teddy watched as the pair laughed and shared their memories, he felt this pure happiness in his heart, he couldn't explain it, he'd never felt this love before. This was the love he'd been longing for his entire life, he felt like a piece of him had been returned and he felt complete, he felt whole. He had his parents here. He didn't question anything - he couldn't bring himself to, he had his mother and father here, he had it all now. "We, uh, watched telly, and did some baking." He nodded, quickly trying to make something up on the spot, still- he couldn't bring himself to question anything, he knew he should and he had so many bouncing around in his head, but he feared that if he asked the wrong one, they'd disappear and he'd find himself stood outside of Harry's home. That night had been spent on the couch with his parents, listening to their stories - their childhood, the wizarding wars, all of it. He kept asking for them to tell more, listening to every single word that tumbled from their lips, until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He fell asleep there on the couch, between his parents. He wondered if he'd died and if this was heaven; if that was the case, he was okay with it, because this was the happiest he'd been. He'd never felt peace like this before.  
  


The next day was the same, full of laughter and joy, spending every second with his parents, glued to their sides, afraid each day would be his last with them. It wasn't though, the next day kept arriving. Until it was Saturday, and it was time for him to go to his Grandmas for the weekend. He'd wanted to protest, yet, he didn't. He felt some security now, that Sunday evening he'd be brought back to his parents; was this his life now?  
  


"You behave, alright? Give your grandma our love, won't you? I'll see you Sunday evening, Ted." Remus spoke sternly but with that softness behind his tone, as the bus pulled up, and Remus pressed a gentle kiss to his son's curls before sending him on his way. He smiled warmly at the conductor; Teddy wondered if they knew each other, but he didn't have the chance to question it - his ticket was stamped and the bus went flying - this had to be the Knight Bus, he didn't even have a chance to sit down!  
  


He must've fallen asleep though, somewhere along the journey, his Grandma must've been waiting for him at the stop, and carried him to bed because he awoke in his bed, to the sun trying to peek through his curtains. "Teddy?" A gentle voice called from the bottom of the stairs, "Teddy, c'mon, I hope you've packed! We need to be at the stop by eleven, it's quarter-to now!" Came that same, gentle but now more stern call. It had all been a dream. None of it had been real. How? It had felt so real, he could still feel every hug lingering on his skin, every kiss lingering on his head. He felt a wave of sadness hit, he felt breathless, like he'd just been punched. There were tears in his eyes as he climbed out of bed, "I'm coming!" He called back, getting up to get ready for the weekend ahead - trying to process that it had really all just been a dream.  
  


As Teddy went to grab the photo of his parents from under his pillow, to slip into his bag - he felt something else sitting beside the photo. It was a leaflet. He moved his pillow, picking up the leaflet; it was ocean blue, with a triple-decker bus displayed on the front.  
  


'The Pleiades Bus.'


End file.
